This invention relates to the servicing of various forms of motorized equipment which employ internal combustion engines requiring periodic replacement of various fluids employed in the operation of the equipment. Engine oils, coolant fluids, transmission and differential fluids, as well as hydraulic fluids, must be periodically drained from such equipment and replaced with fresh supplies.
In the past, most automotive service stations were equipped and staffed to provide their customers with appropriate facilities to drain and replace engine oils and other attendant fluids normally employed in automated vehicles. With the advent of the "self-service" type gasoline station, many such establishments no longer provide periodic maintenance service for their customers. Thus, the customer is required to seek out what may be an inconvenient location to have the service performed or, in the alternative, he must perform the service himself. If the latter action is chosen, it requires that the operator of the vehicle be equipped with appropriate tools and facilities to perform the service himself which may have obvious attendant problems.
In addition to the individual motor vehicle operator, there are significant numbers of fleet vehicle operators both in connection with passenger vehicles, such as rental organizations, taxi fleets, governmental and company operated motor pools, as well as industrial vehicles, such as buses, trucks, cranes, tractors, air compressors, aircraft, off-the-road vehicles, and the like. Each of these pieces of equipment must periodically receive preventive maintenance service which involves the necessity of withdrawing and replacing various oils, coolants, fuels and other fluids normally involved in the operation of the equipment.
My invention provides a means whereby individual vehicles may be serviced at a convenient location without the necessity of bringing the individual unit to a service facility. Thus, my invention contemplates taking the service facility directly to the vehicle or equipment to be serviced and by appropriate manipulation of the service vehicle and the extensible waste fluid receptacle attached thereto, the service technician may drain the fluids into the receptacle conveniently and without the necessity of inconveniencing the owner or operator of the vehicle to be serviced.
Moreover, my invention avoids the necessity of having the owner-operator of the vehicle become involved in the potentially messy activities associated with draining oil from the engine, coolants from radiators, hydraulic fluids, etc., and insures that these waste fluids will not be indiscriminately discarded. A single workman employing a service vehicle equipped with my waste fluid receptacle can within a short time service a fleet of vehicles without the necessity of moving any of these vehicles, thus effecting a significant reduction in operator cost and periodic maintenance of the vehicles. By utilizing my invention, vehicles can be serviced during non-use hours, thus avoiding any interference with the productive times of employment of such equipment. This is particularly significant with respect to industrial equipment, bus fleets, and aircraft.
In the past, various attempts have been made to facilitate the draining of waste fluids from motor vehicles, but insofar as I am aware, there has been no attempt to provide a service vehicle mounted extensible fluid receiving system, such as is proposed by my invention. Examples of the prior art of which I am aware are represented by the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,555,326--Mummert PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,568,830--Gunderson PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,880,546--Wanamaker PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,874--Henry PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,385,393--Wilson
All of the foregoing patents represent floor supported receptacles which are normally attendant to a conventional service station operation and none suggest the vehicular arrangement which I propose herein.